Expertise

Government Procurement

The many facets of government offer myriad business opportunities for corporations with the right qualifications, but a lack of access to decision makers often presents an insurmountable obstacle. Our experience and depth of relationships allows us to position skilled corporations to make their case before the governmental entities that need their services the most. Additionally, our continuous monitoring of key agencies and departments gives us real-time knowledge of their needs before a public request for proposal is issued.

Grassroots and Grasstops Engagement

As a consultant to over twenty-five state, federal, and local campaigns as well as a regional director for the George H. W. Bush for President Campaign and the Republican National Committee, Jay Morgan has experience in directing strategic campaigns that is unparalleled for its longevity among Georgia-based public affairs consultants. As the youngest Executive Director of a Republican Party organization in the country in his home state of Georgia, he applied grassroots and telemarketing strategies for the first time in Georgia and oversaw the effort to triple the party’s donor base at a critical time in its development. With then-GOP Chairman Paul Coverdell, he engineered the Georgia GOP’s first algebraic targeting system for state legislative races, which identified vulnerable incumbents and winnable open seats.

Legislative Advocacy

Government is a complex and cumbersome world to understand. We have the relationships, expertise, and attention to detail that is required to ensure that your interests are represented throughout all levels of government. Identifying, informing, and building relationships with key influencers is a cornerstone of our process. In particular, our firm specializes in state level legislative advocacy at the Georgia General Assembly; for twenty years, the J.L. Morgan Company has provided corporations, coalitions, candidates, and business associations with solid strategic plans for execution of government affairs tactics. To effectively demonstrate the important role that businesses play in legislators' districts and throughout the state is essential to building champions and establishing the credibility of an organization among policymakers. Oftentimes this can be achieved through on-site visits that give officials the opportunity to speak with employees in their district and see an organizations' value added to the community up close and personally. Below are photographs from legislative visits and tours that the J.L. Morgan Company has facilitated over the past few years.

Local pharmacy owner loren pierce and one of his pharmacists speak with lt. Governor Casey cagle and Representative beth Beskin (R-Atlanta) about pharmacy issues that are important to them.

REP. WES CANTRELL (R-WOODSTOCK) visits Classrooms at clark creek elementary school with representatives from the georgia council for teachers of mathematics.

state senator dean burke (r-bainbridge), state representative ed rynders (r-albany), and ben jarrard from the office of governor nathan deal stand with executives from procter and gamble after taking a tour of the bounty and charmin plant in albany, georgia.

state representative buddy harden (R-cordele) stands with leaders from u-save-it pharmacy in cordele, georgia after VISITING with employees TO discuss pharmacy issues that are important to them.

P20 Atlanta conference to be center of global payments world

The city of Atlanta will play host to Payments 20, a conference of the elite electronic transactions companies and regulators from the U.S., England and Canada in what’s been dubbed by organizers as the “Davos of payments.”

The P20 conference, as it’s known for short, is in its second year, and comes to Atlanta after its inaugural conference last year in London. On Wednesday at the Atlanta History Center, about 200 top global executives and government officials will discuss some of the key issues in payments technology, including regulatory issues between North America and the U.K and cybersecurity.

Payments are a critical and often overlooked part of the global economy. Georgia is the payments capital of the U.S., processing some 70 percent of all debit, credit and gift card transaction in the nation each year, according to the American Transaction Processors Coalition. London is a global financial hub and also bills itself as the financial technology, or FinTech, capital of the world.

H. West Richards, P20 president and founder, and executive director of ATPC, said the conference was born for Atlanta and London to help drive the conversation about the future of payments technology and how to conduct business around the world.

How consumers pay today — by and large with a piece of plastic — is likely to change in the years ahead as smartphones become more sophisticated and ingrained in society. Consumers also are engaged in more online purchasing. That’s not to mention the potential of virtual currencies like Bitcoin.

At a launch party for this year’s conference at the Holland & Knight law firm in February, Richards called the U.K. America’s “natural partners.”

“America could not have a better partner,” he said. “They are the ones who have set a great example to move this industry forward.”

Bruce Lowthers, chief operating officer of payments giant FIS and the conference’s chairman, said this year’s conference will focus on how to streamline regulation to ensure the industry on both sides of the Atlantic can continue to innovate and make products for businesses and consumers more efficient. He said protecting the global payment systems from cyber threats is also a key priority.

Last year, Equifax, the Atlanta-based credit reporting company, was breached in one of the nation’s worst cyber thefts. The threat from hackers, whether from foreign adversaries or criminal gangs, is a daunting issue that’s required coordination between payments companies and government.

“What’s really great about what this group represents, if we’re going to make change, we’ve got everyone in the room we need to make change,” Lowthers said.

On Wednesday, the conference will present the results of a cyber war game that tested the resiliency of the financial technology companies’ networks.

Companies that are expected to be represented include American Express, Visa, Mastercard, FIS, First Data, TSYS, Fiserv, Incomm and Worldpay.

Former British Prime Minister David Cameron will be one of the featured speakers to address the geopolitical climate and the FinTech industry.

Gov. Nathan Deal and Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms are among the local political leaders expected to speak.

Hala Moddelmog, CEO of the Metro Atlanta Chamber, said FinTech is one of the region’s most important industries. The state has developed curricula to help drive a talent pipeline to attract new FinTech and cybersecurity companies.

The conference will offer corporate recruiters from Atlanta and the state to show off the region’s FinTech muscle, she said. It’ll also open the door for new customers and vendor relationships and potential new sources of foreign investment.

“We’ve got density and concentration in the FinTech vertical,” she said. “We can own it.”

The Georgia Department of Transportation’s Northwest Corridor Express Lanes Project has been recognized as the No. 1 project on the 2018 Roads & Bridges Top 10 Roads list. This infrastructure project, the largest of its kind in state history and most innovative express lanes project in the country, opened Sept. 8. with the goal of alleviating congestion and providing more reliable travel times for commuters.

Roads & Bridges' Top 10 Roads awards, created in 2000, recognize the top projects in North America. Each year, nominations are submitted to the R&B editorial staff, which determines the Top 10 list based on project challenges, impact to region, and scope of work.

The Northwest Corridor Express Lanes Project included the design of six new express lane interchanges on I-75, new access points, and 39 bridges with lengths totaling about 27,500 linear feet. The project did not use existing general purpose lanes interchanges and as a result, four separate access points, some created using isolated side roads, were constructed for the I-285 interchange alone. This, combined with successfully navigating a tight working space and managing environmental sensitivity, are some of the key factors which led it to be named the No. 1 project for 2018.

The project improves travel in the I-75/I-575 corridor by adding nearly 30 miles of express lanes along I-75 from Akers Mill Rd to Hickory Grove Road and along I-575 from I-75 to Sixes Road. Two express lanes were built to the west of the existing lanes along I-75 between I-285 and I-575. From that interchange, one express lane has been added along I-75 north to Hickory Grove Road and one express lane has been added along I-575 to Sixes Road.

“Georgia DOT is honored to receive this award from such a fine publication that is highly valued in our industry,” Georgia DOT Commissioner Russell R. McMurry, P.E. said. “The Northwest Corridor Express Lanes Project was a major undertaking that spanned several years and involved the support of the state legislature, local organizations and stakeholders, and Georgia citizens.

“The Northwest Corridor Express Lanes offer a glimpse into the future of Georgia’s transportation network, which includes a connected system of express lanes in metropolitan Atlanta. We view this project as one of the most transformative projects in state history, enhancing both mobility and transportation choice for Georgia motorists. It is also a leading example of public-private partnership at work to accelerate construction and reduce impacts. Thanks to the support of Governor Deal and the Georgia General Assembly, we are able to continue this innovative work for years to come using the Northwest Corridor model.”